Hancock examines status of Latino immigrants at symposium

     Dr. Tina Hancock presented a paper at the Latino Symposium, part of the annual meeting of the Council on Social Work Education in Chicago on Feb. 17. Hancock, who is an associate professor of social work and field coordinator at Campbell University, explored the challenges facing illegal Latino women in her paper titled, “Sin Papales: Undocumented Mexicanos in Rural U.S.” Hancock presented with noted scholars from the universities of Southern California and Illinois.
     “The paper dealt with the challenges and problems facing Mexican women who migrate here in young adulthood and who don’t have legal standing,” Hancock said. “The rural environment presents many challenges such as transportation and access to services.”
     In addition to employment, the women do gain something positive from the experience, Hancock added. “They develop a sense of self for the first time. They see themselves as individuals rather than as part of a family only.”
     In her paper, Hancock demanded immigration policy reform that emphasizes human rights and recognizes the contributions of the immigrant population to society, which currently numbers approximately 11 million illegal immigrants, most of whom are Latino.
     Dr. Tina Hancock graduated from East Carolina University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and received a master’s in social work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She received a doctorate in clinical social work with a concentration in human development from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
     Prior to coming to Campbell, she was an associate professor of social work at the University of South Florida in Tampa. In addition Hancock, served as coordinator of the Graduate Social Work Program at the University of South Florida and was social services program coordinator for Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, N.C. While living and working in Mexico, Hancock volunteered as Director of Development for VAMOS! Inc., an anti-poverty, non-profit organization with over 67 programs throughout the state of Morelos, Mexico.
     Hancock has published articles in the journals, “Teaching Social Work,” “The Journal of Social Work Education” and “The Journal of Applied Social Sciences.” She has published previously in the area of Latino immigration in the journal, “Child Welfare.” The title of the article was “Culturally Competent Assessments of Poor Immigrant Families in the Rural Southeast.” An article developed from her presentation at the symposium has been accepted for publication by the social work journal, “Affilia.”
     Hancock’s clinical experience includes the Family Service Association of Greater Tampa, the Family Enrichment Center in Memphis, Tenn., Family Counseling Services of Tuscaloosa and Eastern Appalachian Children’s Council in Marion, N.C. She also served as a social worker for the Stanley County Department of Social Services in Albemarle, N.C. In 1985 she was named Outstanding Social Work Alumnus by the University of Alabama and was appointed a research associate at the Center for Research on Women at Memphis State University in Memphis, Tenn., in 1992.